Rail chair and joint.



E. F. LOWE. RAIL CHAIR AND JOINT. APPLEC ATIGN FILED NOV. 17. 1915- Patented Feb. 13, 191?.

nvrr spars Parana c arion.

EUGENEFRAN 'K LOWE, OF DELEVAN, NEW YORK- RAIL CHAIR AND JOJ QNT.

speeificati eers Patent. *Patentedl Feb. 13, 1917.

Application filed November 17, 1915. Serial No. 61,963.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE F. Lown, a citizen of the United States,residing at Delevan, in the county of Cattaraugus and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Chairs andJoints, of which thefollowin g is a specification, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to means for supporting and connecting railroadrails, and particularly to a joint wherein a chair is used forsupporting the rails and wherein the rail is supported within the chairby means of rail clamping or engaging members;

Under the present tratlic conditions and with increased weight of therolling stock and the increased speed of trains, it has becomenecessaryto provide some means for supporting a rail upon a tie and clampingrails together at the joint having greater resistance to strain than theordinary fish plates or spikes. It is further necessary to provide meansfor preventing the rail from cutting into or wearing away the upper faceof the tie, and further to provide means for bracing the rail againstlateral or tipping thrust. I

The primary object of my invention is to provide a rail supporting chairwhich will meet the conditions above pointed out, which will be cheaptoaconstruct which may be readily applied, and which, when applied, willhold the .rail fiinxty to the tie, brace the rail, andhold two' abuttingrails in alincmcnt .with each other.

A further object of provision of a rail joint of this character whichwill permit the chair to be shimmed without necessitating the detachmentof the primary fastenings, spik s, or bolts, and further which willallow for expansion or contraction of the rails.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a construction ofthis character wherein an improved bond may be used betwccngthe rails sothat electric current may bp conducted from one rail to the next, and

in this connection to provide means whereby this conductor or bond, maybe cheaply made, readily disposed in position, and will not get out ofplace. 7

A further ob'ect of the invention is to provide means for limiting thelongitudinal the invention is the movement of the rails with relation tothe chair but permitting a slight longitudinal movement of the rails toprovide for expansion or contraction.

Still another object of the invention is the provlsion of means 111'connection with the rail engaging and clamping members for preventingthe accidental release of the nuts which hold the clamping members inplace.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view showing my rail chair in elevation and partly brokenaway, the rail being in section and the tie in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one 'of the anchoring plates;

Fig. l is a perspective view of one of the bondingplates, Y I

Referring to these drawings, A designates a tie which may be made of anysuitable material but is shown as the ordinary wood .tie commonly usedon railroads. B designates a rail of standard form having the usualbase, the vertical web, and the head.

Resting upon the upper face of the tie is the rail chair or base plate,designated 2, which has upstanding flanges 3 at its ends, these flangesbeing under cut, that is, the inner faces of the flanges extendingupward and inward. as at -l. The base plate 2 has a width equal to thatof the tie, and the middle of the base plate is formed with a slighttransversely extending depression, designated 5; within which is adaptedto be disposed a copper plate 6 for a purpose which will be laterstated. When this plate 6 is disposed in position, the rail restsdirectly upon it and is approximately flush with the upper face of thebase plate 2. The base plate 2 is formed with a plurality of verticalpassages 7 for primary fastening bolts, designated 8. These bolts extenddownward through the tie A and each pair vof bolts on one side of therail has screw threaded engagement with an anchoring plate 9 whichextends transversely of the tie.

Coaeting with the base plate 2 and the rail member is formed to conformto the contour of the web of the rail and the upper face of the basethereof, and the under face of each clamping member rests lirml'y downupon the upper face of the base plate 2. The outer edge of each clampingmember is beveled so as to fit against the under face 1 of theoverhanging fiange 3' in the manner shown in Fig. 1. Each of theseclamping members 10 is cut-away upon its upper face transversely of thetie, as at 12 and each clamping member is provided with a plurality ofpassages 13 for the passage of bolts 8. These bolts have screw-threadedengagement at their lower ends with the anchoring plates 9 and at theirupper ends have screwthreaded engagement with the nuts 15.

In order to prevent the rotation of these nuts 15 in a direction torelease the nuts, I may provide any suitable nut lock construction. andpreferablyI form each clamping member 10 with a pair of inwardlyextending'borest16 and dispose in each bore the coiled spring 17 whichbears outward on a locking stud 18. This stud is shouldered at itsmiddle so as to provide a portion embraced by the end of the spring anda portion which is engageable with an opening formed in a transverselyextending strip 1!). This strip has a length equal to that of thecorresponding rail clamping member 10. After the nuts 15 have beenturned up the studs 18 will be forced inward by any suitable means andthe strip 19 dropped into place betweenthe faces of the nuts and theface of the corresponding filler block or clamping member 10. When thestuds 18 arereleased, the studs 18 will be forced out into lockingengagement with the corresponding strip 1!) and hold it in place againstdetachment. \Vhen it is desired to release either pair of nuts 15, thelocking studs 18 are. forced inward and the strip withdrawn. Thispermits the nuts 15 to be turned in a reverse direction.

In order to prevent undue. longitudinal movement of the rails withrelation to the chair but at the same time permit a certain amount oflongitudinal movement to admit of expansion or contraction of the rail.T form each of the rails with the somewhat elliptical openings 20 andform 'upon the inner face of one of the clamping members 10 theoutwardly projecting studs 21 which are adapted to project into theopenings 20 in the rails and lock these rails from undue longitudinalmovement. 'lhese studs, as will beseen from Fig. 2, do not extendentirely through the rail and therefore do not extend entirely throughthe rail and therefore do not extend into engagement. with the otherclamping member 10 but only extend nearly through the web of the rail.

In order to provide for the conduction of electric current from one railto the other rail, I preferably make the plate 6, prethe rail is fullysupported viously referred to, of copper. This plate has a width thesame as the recess 5 in the upper face of the base plate'2, and'thiswidth is greater than the width ofthe base of the rail so that the railis supported at its base entirely in contact with this copper plate 6.In order to prevent longitudinal movement of the copper plate 6 withrelation to the chair or tie. I form the ends of the plate 6 with thesemi-circular lugs or extensions 22 which, as illustrated in Fig. 4, are

No. (38.024. liled on the 21st day of December. 191.).

It will be noted that the rail engaging members 10 conform on theirinner faces to the upper face. of the base of the rail and to theconformation of'the web and extend upward nearly to the head of therail. 'lhus along its entire vertical extent. and not merely at the baseof the rail as is the case where spikes are used. 'lhese rail bracestherefore offer maximum resistance to lateral or tipping thrust andsecurely hold the rail in place without danger. of the rail spreading.It will further be seen that by placing shims betweenthe tie and theunder face of the base plate 2. the rail will be elevated whennecessary, and furthermm'e, that the rail may be slightly tipped byusing more shims on one side of a chair than on the other.

It will be noted that it will be ditlicult for moisture to enter intothe holes formed for. the bolts inasmuch as the openings through theclamping members ll) will be protected by the nuts 15. and inasmuch asthe base plate 2 covers the entire tie. Thus there will not be somuch'liability of the. wood rotting around the openings for the bolt 8.Furthermore. there will be no necessity of constantly adjusting the railto gage. here spikes are used the spikes are continually loosening underthe action of passing trains. The holes for the spikes, as aconsequence, wear. and the fail, has continually to be respiked andreadjusted. \Vith the rail chair forming the subject of thisapplication, no such constant adjustment will be necessary as the railwill be. very firmly and solidly held to the tie. and once set to propergage will remain so set. Furthermore, it will be seen that the downwardpressure exerted by a passing train will be distributed over a largeamount of tie surface by reason of the plate 9, and thus the upper l'aceol' the tie 'lISU will not become worn or broken as is the case whererails rest either directly upon the tie or upon relatively small wearplates.

The rail joint heretofore described is simple, may be cheaply made, andthe rails may be put in place or removed as quickly with my joint aswith the joint in ordinary use.

Attention is also called to the fact that with my improved rail jointthe strain due to the tipping thrust upon the rails is not resistedentirely by the nuts 15 but is resisted by the overhanging end flangeswhieh engage with the ends of the rail engaging members. 'lhus the railwill be held very firmly in position upon the base plate and inas muehas this base plate has a relathely large area it will be held veryfirmly upon the tie.

Having described my invention, what I elaim is:

1. in a rail joint, a base plate having overhanging end fianges,.a tieupon whieh the base. plate rests, bolts passing upward through the. tieand through said base plate, and rail engaging inen'ibers havingopenings through which said bolts pass and having their ends insertedbeneath the overhanging end flanges of the base plate.

'3. In a rail joint. :1 tie, a base plate resting on the tie and havinginwardly exte.nd ing overhanging flanges. bolts passing upward throughthe tie and through said base plate and eonstituting primaryt'astenings, and rail engaging members mounted upon the base plate, theinner f'aees of the rail enaging members conforming to and fitting o .rthe base of the rail and against the web thereof. the outer edges ofsaid rail engaging members being beveled and extending beneath theoverhanging end flanges of the base plate, said members having openingsfor the passage of said bolts.

3. In a rail joint, :1 base plate, a rail resting thereon and havinglongitudinally elongated perforations through its web, and 0ppositel ydisposed rail engaging members detaehably mounted upon the base plateand having portions extending upward on each side of the web of therail, one of said members having studs projecting through the openingsin the rail. the studs being less in diameter than the length of theperforations.

4. In a rail joint, a tie, a base plate resting on the tie and havingend flanges extending upward and inward, rail engaging members mountedupon the base plate, the inner iaees of the rail engaging membersadapted to engage the. base and the web of a rail, the outer ends of therail engaging members fitting beneath the owl-hanging end flanges of thebase plate. anehoring plates disposed on the, bottom of the tie, andbolts having serew threaded engagement with the anchoring plates andextending upward through the base plate and through said rail engagingmembers. nuts having screw threaded engagement with the upper ends (itthe bolts 'reversely direeted to the screw threads on the lower ends ofthe bolts, and means for loeking the nuts on the upper ends of the boltsfrom rotation.

In testimoirv whereof l hereunto aflix my signature in the presenee. oftwo witnesses.

RUG I) N l) Flt AN K LOWE.

\Vitnesses.

R. (l. CinnsrnN, F. B. llENDERSUN.

